83% of 116 verified owners recommend the Boss Katana-50 MkII.
Affiliate blogs here say 100% recommend, while the owner-based score is 83%. They earn a commission on every sale — so we show them for transparency but never let them move the score.
The headline score reflects owners (Reddit, enthusiast forums), independent lab tests, and blogs with no affiliate links. YouTube and affiliate blogs are shown for perspective but kept out — hover the i for why.
“I had similar issue with my Katana 50mkII. When I switched to a Marshall20DSLHr+Cabinet, and all was much better”
“I have 50mkii and I only ever play it on the clean channel (variation on) using the onboard effects plus a bunch of pedals. The clean setting takes pedals so amazingly.”
“there's zero wrong with the 50mkii, but if I'd known All the Things I would have spent the extra money. I could if I decided it was important, sell/donate it on and get the 100 1x12.”
“50MKII is super bright, totally the opposite of muffled. Most of the time I try to boost lower frequencies in EQ to make it sound more bottom.”
“I use a American Strat 60th Anniversary edition through a Boss Katana 50MKII and love this setup to bits. Use that NUX footswitch to switch 4 channels on the Katana. A flawless setup really.”
“they’re just a cheap transistor amp with good marketing. You’re better off putting your money towards a proper small valve amp”
“It takes a lot to get decent tones. You have to use your pc to change settings. I traded mine in for a Spider V60.”
“There’s really no difference between the plain 50mkII and the artist MKII. As long as you have tone studio the only thing you’re really paying for is the Waza speaker”
“I got the artist mkII a few months ago and I still use my 50mkII. I personnally like to use the artist for my wet effects because of the effects loop but also because of the details in the sound of its speaker.”
“this amp feels cheap and sounds cheap, because it’s cheap. it doesn’t stand out among the more affordable amps.”
“Generally, there is a big difference with the stock amp presets but to me, it made a noticeable improvement after I spent some time balancing the gain.”
“I had the 50MkII and loved it but wanted the effects loop. I also absolutely hated the fact that the panel was on the top. It just didn't work for me when I wanted to tweak a knob etc.”
“I just bought a 50MKII for my son and it arrived today. This thing sound awesome! A ton better than I thought it would. I'm thinking about buying a second one for me.”
“The 100w can play as loud the 50. It got a power limiter from 0.5w to 100w and an headphone plug. Moreover the 50w don't have the same speaker, the 100w is more round sounding.”
“the UI for the Katanas is dog shit. Fender's phone app is miles better than Katana's IMO.”
“I have a Katana 50MKii. It's incredible how far along these affordable modeling amps have come in the last 10 years.”
“The Brown amp model that's built into the amp doesn't have enough distortion for me.”
“You'll get a lot of effects with a Katana but you'll get a nicer gain tone from a cheap old Peavey”
“I have a Katana, and I use a few Neural DSP Amp-Sims. they both have their advantages”
“Clean tones are good but I felt the overdrive wasn't good. I sold mine”
“I have the katana 50mkII as well and it's an insane value. If you haven't done so yet, hook it up to your laptop.”
“katana 50mkii is awesome. so versatile and the software u can play with makes it super worth it.”
“I had a few friends use the 50s for some gigs, but they all upgraded the speaker.”
“Fuck no. You could get an amazing orange or Marshall for that price”